Ballistic resistant articles comprising elongate bodies are known in the art.
EP833742 describes a ballistic resistant moulded article containing a compressed stack of monolayers, with each monolayer containing unidirectionally oriented fibres and at most 30 wt. % of an organic matrix material.
WO2006/107197 describes a method for manufacturing a laminate of polymeric tapes in which polymeric tapes of the core-cladding type are used, in which the core material has a higher melting temperature than the cladding material, the method comprising the steps of biasing the polymeric tapes, positioning the polymeric tapes, and consolidating the polymeric tapes to obtain a laminate.
EP1627719 describes a ballistic resistant article consisting essentially of ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene which comprises a plurality of unidirectionally oriented polyethylene sheets cross-plied at an angle with respect to each other and attached to each other in the absence of any resin, bonding matrix, or the like.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,234 describes an impact-resistant composite and helmet made thereof. The composite comprises a plurality of prepreg packets, each comprising at least two layers of cross-plied layers of unidirectional coplanar fibers embedded in a matrix. The fibers may be highly oriented high molecular weight polyethylene fibers.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,167,876 describes a fire retardant composition comprising at least one fibrous layer comprising a network of fibres such as high-strength polyethylene or aramid fibers in a matrix in combination with a fire-retardant layer.
While the references mentioned above describe ballistic-resistant materials with adequate properties, there is still room for improvement. More in particular, there is need for a ballistic resistant material which combines a high ballistic performance with a low areal weight and a good stability. The present invention provides such a material.